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Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
Dear Diary — June 12, 2001
The Blood of Dunbar: The Forgotten Holocaust of the Scottish Covenanters
This is the first of a series of posts introducing the five-part historical fiction novel Unbowed, which will be published in November 2026. All five parts are based on true events and real people – my ancestors. Most students of American history are familiar with the standard narrative of New England’s early settlers: the Mayflower, the […]
“Blood Moon” lunar eclipse across the Americas
Lunar eclipses occur when Earth moves between the sun and the moon and its shadow is cast on to the lunar surface. In Thursday night’s event 96% of the moon will be darkened by the Earth’s shadow at its peak moment. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/aug/27/lunar-eclipse-north-south-america WordPress has gotten really wonky with the “quotation” formatting, so I hope this […]
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© Matthew Apple and Taking Leave, 2009-2020. Duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to post or copy brief excerpts from the blog, please provide a link to the original URL along with an author’s credit.
Tag Archives: child care
Initial colleague reactions
Although I had already talked with the jinjigakaricho about child care leave, I resisted approaching the head of the English department, Professor K, until the middle of November. One reason was that I felt that waiting until a less stressful … Continue reading
The paperwork is in…but the Personnel Head is not
This morning, after the usual 25-minute walk to campus from the station, I headed straight for the General Affairs office (Soumu-ka). In my hands, a plastic sleeve folder containing the four pieces of paper so far required for the Child … Continue reading
The story begins…
I’m an American teaching English full-time in the heartland of Japan. Next year I have applied for paternity leave, making me the first male teacher at my school to do so. This blog will document my experiences raising a bilingual … Continue reading
Taking Leave 